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Comment by mulmen | Hacker News Reader

Is this some kind of inverse no true scotsman?

If you win by being honest that’s not dishonest.

I believe they are saying that there are multiple rounds, each with different games - some with honest optimal strategies and some with dishonest optimal strategies. A dishonest person can always choose the optimal strategy for each game, but the honest person can only choose the best honest strategy. So in aggregate the dishonest person comes out ahead.

Ok but people are both honest and dishonest so how do you decide what type a person is?

If a person chooses to be dishonest when that benefits them, they're a dishonest person.

Nobody is perfectly honest so this definition isn’t useful without further qualification.

because dishonest people can choose to be honest

honest when it benefit you is not truly honest

> because dishonest people can choose to be honest

According to you. But why can’t the opposite be true?

> honest when it benefit you is not truly honest

Show me a person who has never been dishonest.

"According to you. But why can’t the opposite be true?"

because they are honest people

"Show me a person who has never been dishonest."

My mother always honest with me

Life has a lot of iterated games. A reputation for dishonesty can sometimes end up following you around.

That just means a given individual might get found out, opening up an opportunity for a different dishonest person.

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